Rhombic Egg-Eater (Dasypeltis scabra)

Although completely harmless, people often get a fright and kill Egg-Eaters due to their defensive posturing – they coil their bodies and rub their keeled scales against each other to produce a loud hissing noise, then flatten their head and open their mouth whilst pretending to strike.

In reality they barely have any teeth, and they are completely harmless!

Mainly nocturnal, Egg-Eaters feed exclusively on birds’ eggs. They have sharp protrusions on the inside of their spine that they use to crack an egg open after they’ve swallowed it, then they spit the shell back out.